"The true position of the Scottish Episcopal Church" : a sermon preached in the Episcopal Chapel of St. John the Evangelist, Edinburgh, on Sunday, December 11, 1842 : the day appointed by the Diocesan Synod for receiving congregational offerings, in aid of the Scottish Episcopal Church Society

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« THE TRUE POSITION OF THE SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH :"

A SEEMON

PREACHED IN THE

ZSplscopal Chapel of St. John the Evangelist^ Edinburgh^

ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1842.

THE DAY APPOINTED BY THE DIOCESAN SYNOD, FOR RECEIVING

CONGREGATIONAL OFFERINGS, IN AID OF THE

SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH SOCIETY.

By E. B.RAMSAY, M.A., F.R.S.E.

Incumbent of St. John's, in the Diocese of Edinburgh and Dean.

EDINBURGH : R. GRANT and SON, 82, PRINCES STREET.

LONDON : BURNS, 17, PORTMAN STREET.

ABERDEEN : BROWN & Co.

M.DCCC.XHI.

tUlXBVRGH : PRINTED r,T THOMAS CONST VBLE,
VKINTKR TO HEK MAJKSTY.

THE GENTLEMEN OF THE VESTRY,

THE CONGREGATION

EPISCOPAL CHAPEL OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST, EDINBURGH,

THIS SERMON

(PUBLISHED BY THEIR DESIRk)

IS RESPECTFULLY PRESENTED

BY THEIR

AFFECTIONATE FRIEND AND PASTOR,

E. B. RAMSAY.

23, AiNSLiB Placb, Edinbu^h,
Dec. 24, 1842.

THE

TRUE POSITION

OF THE

SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH.

" THEN THK DISCIPLES, EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY, DETERMINED TO
SEND RELIEF UNTO THE BRETHREN WHICH DWELT IN JUDEA." ActSfXi.'ZB.

'From this and parallel passages of the New
Testament, it is abundantly evident that distant
portions of the early Christian Church communi-
cated with each other in deeds of charity and
beneficence, — that believers who were blessed
with a larger portion of this world's wealth, con-
tributed towards the necessities of those who had
less ; and that the bond of churchmanship was
recognised as a sufficient claim upon the sympathy
and assistance of churchmen. The text refers to
pecuniary aid, which the disciples at Antioch had
determined to send to the suffering brethren of
the Church of Jerusalem ; and we have reference
also in St. Paul's Epistles to collections made for
similar purposes at Corinth, in Macedonia, and

6

Achaia ; and in regard to these benevolent con-
tributions, the disciples are urged to give "bounti-
fully, not grudgingly or of necessit3^" The
principle, therefore, on which poorer brethren of
the Church make application to those who are
more wealthy, is sound and scriptural. There
can be no objection to those who need assistance,
making known especially their spiritual distresses,
and soliciting relief from the difficulties which they
experience in decently maintaining the services of
the sanctuary ; no apology, therefore, should be
deemed necessary for a society, the organisation
of which is for the express object of assisting and
supporting the poorer congregations of the Church,
and of which the chief resource for raising the
necessary funds, is by an appeal to the charity of*
the whole.

I would, in the first place, then, offer a brief
notice of the particular position in which this
Church is placed, for whose benefit these annual
collections are demanded ; and for this purpose
we must revert for a few moments to some of the
past circumstances of our ecclesiastical history.
At the period of the Reformation, whilst the great
Divines of the Church of England were carrying
on the work of restoring primitive truth and order,
they acted, in all things concerning the Church,
with caution and discretion. They removed at
once whatever they conceived to be erroneous and
corrupt, but with no less anxiety did they preserve

what was undoubtedly Apostolic and Catholic.
They built upon the old and existing foundation,
nor did they for a moment hesitate to retain and
reform what they knew to be in principle sound,
although at' the time associated with superstitious
practices, or overlaid with accumulated corrup-
tions. " They dealt," says Bishop Bull, " with
our Church, as they did with our temples or
material Churches. They did not pull them
down, and raise new structures in their places — no,
nor so much as new consecrate the old ones — but
only removed the objects and occasions of idola-
trous worship, and took away some little super-
stitious trinkets ; in other things leaving them as
they found them, and freely, and without scruple
making use of them."* Not so the Reformers in
Scotland. They proceeded in a different spirit.
The Reformers of the clerical order considered
that they could not too far depart from the state
of things then existing ; that in polity and cere-
monials, the direct opposite of what was wrong
must be right, — a principle which may be traced
throughout the whole of their proceedings. When
considering existing evils and abuses in the Church,
they did not enquire if they were practices which
had been merely coiTiipted from primitive and
Apostolical usage, and therefore needed to be re-
formed ; such policy seemed to them time-serving

* Quoted ill Quarterly Review, Vol. LXIX., page ol[i. The
wliule article is worthy of attentive study.

8

and compromising. They required an entire change.
All this was easily accomplished in an age when
men's passions were excited, and when a spirit of
general insubordination had broken loose ; and
more especially when too many were found ready
to join in the work of destruction, from selfish and
avaricious motives. It is with shame and sorrow,
therefore, we are compelled to acknowledge, that
destructive as were many of the principles and
movements connected with the Keformation in
England, the scenes of disorder in Scotland were
far more deplorable ; there was a lamentable
spoliation of Church property, a fearful sacrilege
of holy things.. We need not, therefore, be sur-
prised to find, that amidst such scenes, men did
not pause to deliberate calmly, and examine care-
fully the true principles of Church reform.

But from the commencement of the times of
which we speak, there were men in Scotland who
could discriminate between what was primitive
and what was of recent invention-^ — men whose
cooler judgments, and more informed minds could
discern what was in principle sound and true,
amidst the corruptions and the errors with which
it had become entangled. They mourned over
the wreck which they saw around them — they de-
plored the religious license and anarchy of their
times ; and, without' any wish to defend abuses,
or to retain corruptions, they would gladly have
seen the Church restored to her pristine purity,

9

without being defaced and stript of all her ex-
ternal ornament — " in her majesty, ridmg pro-
sperously, because of truth, of meekness, and
righteousness." There have never been wanting
in Scotland- a band of theologians, who have thus
borne their testimony against the indiscriminate
destruction of a zeal, certainly without caution, if
not without knowledge— who have raised their
voice equally against Romish corruption, and
against Puritan curtailment ; and as there exists
now a communion, who, as their spiritual descend-
ants, have continued to maintain the same prin-
ciples and polity, let it be considered, for a few
moments, how we, as Anglican churchmen, stand
in this country in regard to our ecclesiastical
position.*

The Established Church of this portion of the
empire, is in polity strictly Presbyterian. The
great body of Dissenters from the Establishment,
whatever be their differences in other matters,
agree in this — all reject Episcopacy. We are a
small body, therefore, who stand for those Church
principles which we believe to be in accordance
with Apostolic order and primitive discipline. Our
position in Scotland is very different from the posi-
tion of those who maintain the same principles in
England. There they are established ; in Scotland,
as Non-conformists, we are only tolerated. There,
Episcopalians are the decided majority ; here, we
* See Note A.

10

are a small minority. In England, the Episco-
palian does not discern any prima facie necessity
for defending his principles at all ; he falls in
with the Church as it is established, and recognised
by the law and by the State ; and he rather con-
siders that those who dissent from that Church
should give reasons for their dissent, than he for
his conformity. But in Scotland we are the Non-
conformists ; the Communion recognised by the
State is not that to which we can conscientiously
adhere ; and if we have no legitimate reasons for
our non-conformity, we are well aware that we may
properly be asked, why should we continue sepa-
rate ? Unity in religious discipline and profes-
sion is in itself so desirable, that it should not be
lightly abandoned or violated, except on conscien-
tious grounds. From the peculiarities of the case,
therefore, the Episcopalian in Scotland is com-
pelled to give a reason for the ecclesiastical posi-
tion which he maintains ; conscious, that if he have
not reasons for his non-conformity, his conduct is
indefensible. Naturally, as a loyal subject, his
prepossessions would lean towards the Communion
recognised by the State. Besides which, he is
surrounded with relatives, friends, and neighbours
who belono- to that Communion. Ancestors of
his own, (as ancestors of mine have done,) may
have fought and died for the principles on which
that establishment is founded ; he cordiall}^ joins
with its members in maintaining charitable in-

11

stitutions, and in promoting benevolent plans
for the alleviation of the temporal wants of his
countrymen — their sickness, poverty, and dis-
tress ; he is associated with them in the kindly
and courteous intercourse of ordinary life. For
my own part, there are clergymen of the Esta-
blished Church of Scotland whose characters I
cordially respect, and with whose personal friend-
ship I have been honoured. But there is nothing
inconsistent with such sentiments in saying, that
we dare not, we cannot, accept of the interpreta-
tions of the blessed Word of God which is de-
rived from the traditions of Calvin, where we be-
lieve those interpretations to be opposed to that
which is catholic and primitive.

If a man really believe, that, from the very first
ages of the Church, there existed three orders in the
Christian ministry — that to the Episcopal order was
committed exclusively the office and the power of
ordination ; in other words, of continuing, by un-
broken succession, from the Apostles, the ministry
through which the great truths of the Gospel
were to be promulgated, and its sacred ordi-
nances administered. If he believe, that only by
an Episcopal succession from the Apostles them-
selves can that power of ordination be legitimate-
ly and regularly derived — that Episcopacy is the
bond or appointed instrument through which the
Unity of the Church Catholic is to be preserved
and maintained — If he believe tliiit oracc is com-

12

municated by the Sacraments ; that by Baptism
the believer is regenerate and grafted into the
body of Christ's Church, thereby made " a mem-
ber of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of
the kingdom of heaven " — If he believe that the
holy Eucharist is a constant channel of communi-
cation with the Head of the Church, and of the
highest order — a mystery beyond the powers of
language to define. If he believe in the expe-
diency of a liturgical form of worship, as that
which is most sanctioned by Scripture — as that
universally approved by catholic example — as that
recommended by the experience of the most de-
vout and holiest of men. If he recognise the
wisdom and the piety of observing the great com-
memorative festivals of the Church as practised
from the earliest times, — If he believe these to
be important, to be essential elements of Church
membership, how^ is he to act towards a Com-
munion, of which the abolition of Episcopacy is
one of the -first principles — where all regenerat-
ing influence is denied to the one sacrament —
where • the other is celebrated only at distant in-
tervals, and withheld from the infirm, the sick, and
the dying ? Accustomed to his own impressive
and devotional I^iturgy — having imbibed its spirit,
and experienced its power, can he join in extem-
pore prayer with which he has no previous ac-
quaintance, and in which, therefore, he cannot
fuUy sympathise ? Can he bear the thought that

13

his Christian year shall be secularized and denuded
of those holy festivals and observances with which
he has been accustomed to make a special com-
memoration of the great events of his Saviour's
life, and to preserve the association of all that is
most solemn and most sacred ?

We are conscientiously persuaded, that no move-
ment in the Church was ever more opposed to its
original constitution, than the abolition or rejec-
tion of Episcopacy — that it was a fearful departure
from Apostolic order is my deliberate conviction.
In that fatal step we can discern the introduction
of much of the democratical spirit into the affairs
of the Church, and many of those discordant
elements under which we have suffered since
the Reformation. Much has been written in de-
fence of that daring step. Men may have per-
suaded themselves to glory in that which is their
weakness and their defect, as we know was done
by some of the early continental Reformers ;
Calvin, Beza, and others, at first apologised
for their abandonment of Episcopacy, as neces-
sary, from the spirit and character of their
times, yet subsequently maintained with acrimony,
the position to which, from circumstances, they
had been driven. After all that has been written
on the subject, and after all the objections that
can be raised, repeated, and re-stated, as they are
from time to time, the plain and obvious argument
deduced from the historical fact remains unshaken

14

and unassailable — viz. " that every Church found-
ed by an Apostle was under one and the same
form of government, and that all other Churches
had also the same form, and that no other form
was tolerated for fifteen centuries. That our
Lord himself commissioned his Apostles to build
his Church, and promised them in the work the
guidance of the Holy Spirit. That they did, in
point of FACT, build according to one uniform
plan, and that, in so important a matter, we must
conclude them to have had that promised guid-
ance."*

It is impossible for us, then, in common con-
sistency with our principles, to enter any com-
munion constituted in direct violation of what we
conceive to be thus manifestly the Apostolic model.
We pass no sentence against those who have
adopted different views — we do not presume to
judge others, who, to their own Master, must stand

* Bishop of London's three Sermons on the Church, 1842.

A clear and compendious view of the historical argument for the
Scriptural authority of Episcopacy, may be obtained by the general
reader from the folloA\4ng works: —

1 . Bishop Russell's Sermon at Consecration of Bishop Walker,

.3d Edit.

2. Rev. J. Sinclair's " Dissertations vindicating the Church of

England," 1st Dissertation on Episcopacy. Rivington, 18.j8.

3. Bishop Onderdouk's " Episcopacy tested by Scripture,"

edited by Rev. J. AI. Rodwell, with Appendix. London,
Leslie.

4. The lion, and Rev. Mr. Pcrcival on Apostolical Succession,

2d Edit.

15

01- I'all — but it is necessary that we show a reason
Avhy we cannot recognise as our Church any com-
munion which has not the Episcopal succession in
its constitution. There are questions on which the
approval and sanction of an Establishment is no
satisfactory decision ; and, whatever importance
may be attached to the Establishment principle it-
self in the abstract, (and we are well aware of its
importance,) no one will maintain, that in theolo-
gical questions it is any test of truth, or that it is
sufficient to bear down the appeals which we make
to Scripture, and the testimony of the universal
Church. It appears to me that the true position
of Episcopalians in Scotland is often far from being-
understood, and, in consequence, that their views
and opinions are frequently misrepresented, —
their objects altogether mistaken. Thus, because
we consider the Scottish Reformers to have gone
too far in the work of destruction and of change,
the idea is become prevalent that we have a strong
bias towards the practices and tenets of the Church
of Rome : Because, on Church principles, we
cannot conform to the Establishment, it is as-
serted that we look upon all its members as
beyond the pale of salvation — that we are anxious-
ly anticipating its downfall, if not secretly taking
measures for its destruction. Nothing can be
more unfounded in fact — nothing more illogical in
reasoning, than such conclusions. Our views and
principles, as I before stated, are equally removed

16

from Romanism as from Puritanism. We hold
that a polity, doctrine, and worship. Apostolic and
catholic, are to be found between these two extremes.
In this path we find the ground to be secure ;
here we would step firmly, following the great
luminaries of the Anglican Church — the Hookers,
Barrows, and Taylors — mighty men of a former
age — the pious and learned defenders of the faith,
who were Protestant against Popish corruptions
of the truth, and against Puritan curtailments.
Our non-conformity with a Church Established by
law, undoubtedly implies an opinion that we do not
find in it all the requisites and full characteristics
of an Apostolical and Scriptural Church ; but we
pass no sentence upon the future condition of
its members. God forbid that I should presume
thus to limit the mercy of God, or to subtract
aught from the efficacy of that blood which was
shed upon the Cross for all. I deplore — I deeply
deplore, that Episcopacy has ever been rejected,
because I see in it the bond of union for the
whole Church of Christ — the order by which,
under the administration of the Holy Spirit of
God, the communion of Christ's faithful people on
earth are appointed to be governed and edified.
But terms of communion may not be always
identical with terms of salvation, and we are ever
ready to concede to others that liberty of con-
science which we claim for ourselves.

With regard to the feelings which are enter-

17

tained towards the National Church, as an Esta-
blishment, it will be found, that the respect of
Scottish Episcopalians will never be withheld, from
the diligence and zeal with which conscientious
Pastors are labouring for the welfare, th€ moral
and spiritual improvement of the People entrusted
to their charge; and further, that their respect
for the civil institutions of their country, forbids
their contemplating any measures which would be
injurious to the legal and constitutional rights of
any of their fellow-citizens ; besides which, they
are well aware, that the overthrow of the Northern
Establishment would not be the means of making
men Episcopalians. If they do not join our com-
munion on the conviction of its Apostolical
authority, their nominal union with us would be
no real advantage. It seems, therefore, highly
unreasonable to conclude, that because we make
exertions for the benefit of members of our own
communion, we are therefore meditating hostili-
ties. Our efforts are called forth to supply
manifest and urgent wants, — wants in every de-
partment of our communion, long experienced
and deeply felt. In carrying out these plans,
we neither contemplate injury or aggression, but
are simply endeavouring to perform an obvious
duty, and to discharge an imperative obligation,
due to our Christian brethren of the same house-
hold in the faith.

B

18

Many are the attacks with which our Church
has been recklessly assailed, more especially
by those whose bounden duty it was to sup-
port and stand by it. Some of these movements
can only, we fear, be attributed to that malig-
nant and persecuting spirit which so frequently
accompanies men in an apostacy from their prin-
ciples. The whole of these attacks turn upon
gross misrepresentations. But, indeed, we ought
not to be surprised at misrepresentations, when
"we consider how few persons bring to theolo-
gical enquiry to theological discussion, and still
less to theological controversy, the acumen, the
learning, the ability, the candour, and the de-
liberation, which are essentially necessary for
forming a right judgment on such matters. But
all surprise at misrepresentation will cease, when
we observe the mode in which such subjects are
made the materials for popular and party excite-
ment— when we see accusations broui^ht ao-ainst
the Church, to justify a schismatical and sinful
violation of its unity ; and, above all, when we
find ourselves the objects of attack from the party
newspapers of the day. The mingling of this
element in religious discussion and religious con-
troversy, is one of the sorest evils of our time. I
have no hesitation in expressing the opinion, that
nothing in modern literature exhibits a spirit more
uncandid, more ungenerous, more alien from the
healing and peaceful spirit of Christianity, than

19

the articles of such newspapers, when pledged as
the advocate of a particular party in the (so
called) religious world.

Amid these attacks, it should be no surprise, to
find mij own views and my own opinions mis-
represented; and although, as a system, I cordially
disapprove of a pastor, in the course of ministerial
instruction, putting himself, his ov\^n concerns, or
his own private feelings, prominently forward be-
fore his congregation, still perhaps, on such an
occasion as the present, the opportunity is fitting
for saying a few words of explanation. It may be
due. to you, if not due to the world. I have already
observed then, upon the path in which the Church
of England Theology would conduct us ; guarding
against the errors of those who would corrupt the
Truth of Scripture by addition, and against the
errors of those who would injure it by curtailment
— the one is the Romish, the other the Puritan
^rror. The teaching by writers of our own
Church, may have deviated into one or other of
these extremes, and so far may have been untrue
to their own principles ; but whatever others may
teach, in this middle path, I would by God's help
endeavour, as hitherto I have done, to walk, and
so to teach others. And this path, I conscienti-
ously and from the heart believe, is to be found in
the doctrines and services of our Church ; or, in
other words, I believe the Prayer-Book and the
Thirty-nine Articles, to furnish a true exposition

20

of the Holy Scriptures, — an exposition according
to Catholic antiquity, when used, not as an
independent authority, but as the interpreter of
holy writ. I have ever received the Articles ac-
cording to their obvious and grammatical inter-
pretation, and gratefully reverence the characters
and the work of our Reformers. If in the writ-
ings of any divine, however learned or however
pious, I discern a teaching which leans to the one
extreme or to the other, an opinion which is not
in accordance with the Church, that teaching and
opinion I would disclaim and renounce.

In recent publications by divines of the English
Church are contained some statements of which
I disapprove, and of which I have expressed my
disapproval. Indeed, so far from being a blind
follower or disciple of any modern divines, my
own studies, such as they are, my own feelings and
bias have been towards the older divines of our
Church ; and if there were any authority to which
I would be disposed to bend, (especially in the
doctrines of the sacraments and of justification)
I should say my leaning is to the authority of the
venerable Hooker. Any man's usefulness and in-
fluence in society generally, may be lessened by a
continued and systematic course of misrepresent-
ation. But when clergymen are accused of hold-
ing erroneous doctrines, or adopting superstitious
practices, the particular faults and errors with
which they are charged should be specified. A

21

name is nothing, and may be given by those who,
without understanding what it means, intend mere-
ly to affix an opprobrious epithet. Oh ! it is sad to
see the malignity with which men's characters are
assailed ! and the flippant ignorance with which
religious opinions are discussed, by those who
take upon them the ofiice of censors ; and it is
lamentable to see laymen, engaged in the ordin-
ary business of life, judicially and summarily decid-
ing high questions in Theology and Church polity.
But the truth is, men will sometimes venture bold-
ly into the sea of religious controversy, simply
because they have not sounded the depths of its
mighty waters, or known the difficulties of keep-
ing the right course amidst its rocks and quick-
sands;

I have through life especially avoided attach-
ing myself to any party as a party. It has been
at any rate, my anxious and prayerful desire to teach
the truth to you and to your children, and to pre-
serve your minds from the influence of error, in
whatever quarter it may arise, — whether from the
high Church or the low Church advocates. But I
am equally averse to compromise what I believe to
be TRUTH ; and I should blush for any member of
our Church, who, to avoid the suspicion of leaning
to Romish error, would compromise her essential and
catholic doctrines, who would consent to waive
her divine authority or compromise her divine or-
dinances.

22

As, therefore, we wish to live in charity and In
brotherly kindness towards all men, and at the
same time, to enjoy the privilege of a firm and
consistent adherence to our owm principles and form
of Church polity and worship, so we would act
upon the great principle laid down by St. Paul,
and be ready " to do good unto all men — but
especially to those who are of the household of
faith," /. e. we discern a primary duty and an
especial obligation, to make all legitimate exer-
tions for the support and well-being of our own
communion. I cannot help thinking that such
efforts will be looked upon with respect by candid
Christians of all denominations ; indeed, they might
be disposed to consider us as guilty of a dereliction
of duty, in not having sooner and more efficiently
discharged this obligation to the poorer portions
of our Church.

Of late years there has been an increased acti-
vity in our Communion, for the development and
carrying out of its owm principles, and for means
of increased usefulness. This activity has more
especially been employed on two great projects,
designed for the benefit of our Church. The one
project is yet comparatively in its infancy : the
formation of a CoUeo^e or Academical institution,
which shall combine two important purposes, viz.
that of providing a general education on the prin-
ciples of their own Church, for children of its mem-
bers, and also a fitting theological training to our own

23

candidates for the ministry. It is not my present
purpose to enter upon fhh'sub}ect. I may, however,
in passing observe, how unfair and uncandid have
been the opposition by which this plan, (in itself, a
most natural one) has been met. Before a single
rule or regulation has been drawn up, — before one
functionary or master has been, appointed — be-
fore one step has been taken towards determining
its management, code of laws, or course of study,
it has been confidently described as an institution
got up for the express purpose of promoting and
disseminating Tractarian Theology. But my pre-
sent purpose now is to plead for another object,
and to claim once more your assistance, for an In-
stitution of our Church, of a more general charac-
ter. The Scoftish Episcopal Church Society having
existed for four years, the soundness of its consti-
tution, therefore, as well as the efficacy of its ope-
rations may now be fairly estimated.

I believe it will be admitted by all, who are cap-
able of forming a correct judgment on the subject,
that the^rea^ifficulty under which our Church suf-
fers, and under which she has in past times suffered,
may be comprised in one word — her Poverty. We
have been met by this evil at every turn, it has been
felt in the training of our youth for the work of
the Ministry, in the building and keeping in repair
of our Churches, in providing incomes for our
clergy, and subsistence for those who, by infirmity

24

or age, are incapacitated from further labours in
the vineyard; in our attempts to give education to
the children of our poor, and even to provide
prayer-books and bibles for their use. This
poverty has been so great as to spread a chill over
all our operations; and until the Society, of which
I am now the advocate, was called into existence,
the means for its relief, were miserably insuf-
ficient. Some years since a fund was raised
through the exertions of a few benevolent indivi-
duals, (whose names yet live in our grateful re-
membrance,) for the benefit of the Scottish Epis-
copal Church. The extent of its operations have
been to give sixty pounds a-year to each of the
Bishops, and a mere pittance to some of the most
necessitous of the inferior clergy. Nor have the
trustees of this fund ever been able to accomplish
more. Accordingly, in 181^, our new- Society was
constituted, with machinery calculated for a more
popular and extended plan of operation. One
peculiarity will, I conceive, be a strong recom-
mendation of it, to all who value the principle of
order and Church authority : It is established and
constituted by Canon, — it is part and parcel of the
law of the Church,: — it is, in fact, the Church itself
acting through the agency or instrumentality of a
society. From the experience which we have had,
we are enabled to speak confidently of the bene-
fits which have already accrued from it ; something

25

having been accomplished to mark its effects in re-
gard to all the objects for which it was constituted.
These, agreeabl}^ to the XL. Canon of our Church,
are declared to be fourfold, viz.

1. To provide a fund for aged or infirm clergy-
men, or salaries for their assistants, and general
aid for congregations, struggling with pecuniary
difficulties.

2. To assist candidates for the ministry, in
completing their theological studies.

3. To provide Episcopal schoolmasters books,
and tracts for the poor.

4. To assist in the formation or enlargement
of diocesan libraries.

It is now a source of deep anxiety lest the good
effects which have been already produced should
not be sustained. It is, I fear, the tendency of all
societies to decline in their resources, as they grow
older. New projects and novel speculations draw
off men's zeal from those already established. But
here are objects of permanent interest ; and objects
which, in an unendowed Church, are of perma-
nent necessity. As therefore there lies upon us the
obligation to aid our poorer brethren in their
relation to us of fellow-churchmen and fellow-
christians, so it becomes an urgent duty that we
should endeavour to sustain the resources of a
Canonical Society, on which that aid so much
depends. The very existence of many of our

26

poorer congregations hangs upon the allowances
made by the Society ; and as it has no fixed income,
except the interest derived from a very small capi-
tal, it is of great importance that we should pro-
cure permanent subscribers, and awaken a feeling
towards the objects of the Society, beyond the
contributions made by a casual collection. In
hopes therefore of exciting that more permanent
and cordial interest, I would now conclude by a
few observations, on the efi^ects of poverty, as it
bears upon the efficiency and well-being of the
Church generally.

I. First, then, let us consider the poverty of
our Church, as it affects the Clergy. A Church,
like an individual believer, may be secularised,
and her Clergy injured by the temptations incident
on wealth. The poverty of a Church, therefore,
may, to a certain extent prove beneficial, may
give nerve and decision, and save her from a luxu-
rious and a worldly spirit. But there is a degree
of poverty, the tendency of which is to chill and
dishearten, rather than to brace and encourage ;
there is a poverty which implies not only a want of
many things decent and becoming, but a want even
of what is needful, a want of suitable subsistence
for the clergy, a want of means to support the very
fabrics and the ordinary services of the Church.
The visitor in his casual progress through Scotland,
may meet with Episcopal Churches which do not

indicate the existence of the evils we now speak
of, and where the performance of Divine Worship
is conducted with decency and respectability ; but
in the remote and scattered districts of the north,
and in the crowded population of our large cities,
the eifects of this poverty are severely felt, in the
difficulty of procuring the benefit of Church ser-
vices for the many who require them. And I
need scarcely remind you how sorely these diffi-
culties must press upon the Clergy. In the
work ot the ministry itself, they find sufiicient
to occupy all their attention, and to call forth all
their energies. Every conscientious man must
have experienced the w^eight of these obligations,
and the anxieties of such a responsibility. In some
parts of our poor Church, the labours of the pastor
are much increased by the distances over which his
flock is scattered ; families reside at thirty miles,
and in some instances farther from the clergy-
man's dwelling place. In all that intercourse with
his flock, which is so essential to their comfort,
well-being, and spiritual improvement, poverty
presents numerous drawbacks and discourage-
ments. A pastor, when visiting the house of
mourning, will often encounter the most painful
and heart-rending temporal privations; and it is
easy to conceive his grief and sorrow, at being
obliged to witness distresses, which, alas ! he has it
not in his power to mitigate. When trial and
sickness, too, come within his own domestic circle,

28

poverty may then invest them with such aggrava-
tions of bitterness, as will almost incapacitate him
for ministerial exertions at all. Need we be sur-
prised that the pastor, who, in a wealthy and bene-
volent country, has been thus for years allowed to
suffer unnoticed and unaided, should have experi-
enced something of the bitterness of Neglect ? How
often must his spirits have drooped, his heart de-
sponded, when he met with so little sympathy, and
so little assistance, from those who might be sup-
posed willing to afford both ? How cheerless seem
his pastoral struggles and labours, . amongst those
poor members of Christ's fold, with whom his lot
has been cast. I know well, that it is not from
human approbation that the conscientious minister
of Christ's everlasting Gospel is to draw his en-
couragement and reward; but still, under such de-
pressing circumstances, there is no one whose arm
at times will not be unnerved, and his power of doing
good painfully diminished. Allowing for the admix-
ture of inherent humswi frailty, our poorer brethren
have hitherto gone on faithfully and diligently ;
they have persevered in their appointed^ course
for conscience' sake, and for love's sake ; but oh !
how often must it have been through sorrow of
heart and heaviness of spirit! Having long been
comparatively neglected^ they are now grateful for
the brighter prospects opened to them through the
operations of our Church Society. Let it never
be forgotten, that of our incumbents, fully one-

29

third have hitherto been supporting their profes-
sional station with respectability, and usefully dis-
charging its duties, with annual clerical incomes
under £80 — that, of these incomes several have
been under £50, and some even considerably less !
For the last three years through the operations of
this Society, the minimum of clerical income in our
Church has been preserved at £80. This is a small
matter, but it is doing something. We trust it is not
unreasonable to hope, that we shall be able to raise
that minimum for the future ; it would, at least, be
distressing, it would be discreditable, were we
compelled to fall back from it.*

II. But, secondly, the question does not affect
the Clergy only; there is another party to be con-
sidered, and other interests of the highest import-
ance to be taken into account — I mean the in-
terests of a portion of your fellow-countrymen,
the People among whom the clergy themselves
minister in holy things. I address those who ac-
knowledge religion to be the best friend of man ; I
speak to many who have, I trust, found in it the
surest consolation in sorrow, the strongest hope
and only 'Stay amid th« world's bereavements, and
the world's privations. What greater boon, then,
can you confer upon the poor northern Episco-
palians, than by providing them with similar con-
solations ; than by furnishing them with means for
Pastoral superintendence and Church ordinances,

* See Note B.

30

according to their own faith, and the faith of their
fathers ? It is well known, that they will travel
many a weary mile, over moor and mountain, to
their humble Chapels ; nor will they grudge the
toil, if they are sure of access to those holy Rites
and Sacraments, which they so devoutly love
and venerate ; but in the present state of many
districts, this can hardly be said to be secured to
them. They have no assurance that an efficient
Ministry will be continued to them, when their
present Pastors shall be removed by death, or be
incapacitated by infirmity, or by age ; and, there-
fore, I do not know^ a more desirable mode of ad-
ministering Christian kindness to a people, poor
and scattered through wide and unfertile districts,
than by aiding their ecclesiastical deficiencies.
Let it be remembered, that the Episcopalians, of
whom we speak, are conscientiously attached to
their own modes of faith and forms of worship.
We are not asking for the means of bringing in
new congregations, or of adding to our ranks.
Our object now is to confer on those already in
the Church, means of retaining the spiritual ad-
vantages they know" how to value, and to increase
and render permanent their facilities for pastoral
instruction, and for attendance on Church ordin-
ances. There is a spirit of deep and genuine piety,
pervading the class of persons of w^hom we now
speak ; they are Episcopalians from conviction, as
well as from inheritance ; let it, therefore, be dis-

31

tinctly understood, that with exertions now put forth
to relieve the spiritual destitution of our Church,
the idea of proselyting is not blended. We intrude
upon no man's Vineyard, but we wish our own to
be kept and dressed. We claim it as our Eight ;
we consider it our Duty to preserve to the mem-
bers of our communion, the succession of ministers
Episcopally ordained, and to make provision for
insuring such ministrations as shall be adequate to
their wants and circumstances. Should they be
deprived of this, the spiritual condition of many
might indeed be lamentable. Their attachment
to their own modes of faith and worship, forms
a complete barrier against joining an unepiscopal
communion. In many districts, the establishment
has not the means of receiving them ; they would
therefore either have no public services at all, or
they might embrace those errors of faith and
worship, which all Protestants would equally wish
to avert.

To conclude, I should lament deeply were it
considered that in entering upon these details, we
had secularised the short portion of time destined
for Christian instruction, and that this morning's
discussion had been without serious thought, or
spiritual application, — we trust not. Charity to
the poorer brethren is an essential part of the
blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ — one of its holiest
and most frequent obligations. At the Last Day it
will form the criterion of the believer's sincerity,

32

•

and the mark of his admission to the right hand of
the throne. A time is fast approaching, in which
we must all of us give an account before th^ Judg-
ment-seat of Christ, of the use which we have made
of our opportunities for doing good to the hodies
and the souls of our poorer brethren. But if thei/
shall be rejected and disavowed at the general
Judgment, who have been found wanting in their
contributions towards the physical sufferings of
mankind ; how shall we be prepared to meet here-
after with those of our own faith, our own country,
our own Church, to whose call for the means of
spiritual knowledge and ministerial superintend-
ence, we have turned a deaf ear ? The sentiments
and language of the glorious Liturgy point to
higher services of a Church above, — thither should
it lead the hearts and hopes of all who join in it,
whether its celebration be with all homely circum-
stances in the rough and lowly Highland chapels
of unendowed Scottish Episcopacy, or in the stately
cathedrals of England, with the pealing anthems
of the full-voiced choir echoing through the lofty
aisles. We should therefore look forward to a
day when the various services of the sanctuary on
earth, will be exchanged for the Hallelujahs and
the praises of the Church triumphant ! There all
the worshippers of our earthly sanctuaries will meet,
and tliere all will be equal. Let us bear in mind how
the excuses we make to ourselves for not adequately
assisting the Church, in this her work of Charity,

33

will be accepted then ; let us anticipate the adjust-
ment and the sentences of that awful day of final con-
summation. Thence we should derive motives for
our present labours of love to the brethren for the
sake of Him who loved us and died for us — Thence
we should expect our great reward — For on that
day shall the righteous, and the charitable, and the
pure in heart enter into the joy of their Lord.

NOTES.

Note A. p. 9.

I use the terms " Anglican Cliurclimen," and " Church of England
Theology," because our Church, having the same Episcopal Suc-
cession, and having by Canon adopted the Thirty -nine Articles and
the Liturgy, is in full sinritual Communion with the Church of
England — a spiritual Communion now happily recognised by the
State. By the Act 3 & 4 Vict. cap. 33, passed in the year 1840,
the Prelates of the English Church may admit Bishops and Pres-
byters of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Scotland, "to perform
divine service, to preach and to administer the Sacraments, accord-
ing to the Rites and Ceremonies of the united Church of England
and Ireland, in Churches" or Chapels within England or Ireland."
There is a highly spiritual service, identical in doctrine with the Com-
munion office of the Church of England, but varying in arrangement
and in some expressions, called the " Scottish Communion office,"
which is in use in a few Chapels in the northern districts only, and is
appointed to be used at the consecration of Bishops, and at the open-
ing of General Synods. In direct contradiction to the Act of Parlia-
ment referred to, an attempt has lately been made to deny the spiri-
tual Communion of the two Churches, on account of this office being-
used partially here. When the Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted
by the Bishop of London, and the other Prelates, procured that
Act of the Legislature, declaratory of the spiritual Communion,
they were perfectly aware of all the circumstances connected with
the Scottish Communion office, and that the 20th and o4th Articles
of their own Church recognised, in " particular, or National
Churches," full authority to adopt such a service. In the present
position of the two Churches, therefore, the English Presbyter is
equally inexcusable in disclaiming the spiritual authority of a
Scottish Bishop within his Diocese, as a Scottish Presbyter would
be, disclaiming the spiritual authority, of an English Bishop within
an English Diocese. The present eminent and admirable Bishop of
London, has furnished by his owa example, the best practical illus-
tration of this principle. When during the last summer, (1842),
his Lordship officiated in St. Paul's Edinburgh, he took the south
side of the altar. Bishop Terrot taking the north side ; nor would
he, after his o^vn sermon, pronounce the blessing, because the Bishop
of the Diocese was present. There are many eminent and learned

35

divines of the Cliurcli of England, whose authority might be quoted,
in corroboration of the opinion, that no English clergyman can
officiate in an independent Chapel in Scotland, without incurring the
guilt of SCHISM. I mention only one, and he a Prelate whose acute-
ness, learning, and zeal for the Protestant cause, will bear comparison
with any divine of past or present times, — I refer to the opinion of
Bishop Horslet. In regard to such separation, he thus expresses
himself : — " Clergymen of English or Irish ordination, exercising
their functions in Scotland, without uniting with the Scottish
Bishops, are, in my judgment, doing nothing better than keep-
ing alive a schism." — Letter to Dr. Grant.

We have a judgment of the same great authority, upon the very
Communion office which is now resorted to as a pretence for
justifying schism.

" With respect to the comparative merit of the two Communion
offices for England and Scotland, I have no scruple in declaring,
that I think the Scottish office more conformable to the primitive
models, and, in my private judgment, more edifying than the
English office now in use ; insomuch, that if I were at liberty to
follow my own private judgment, I would myself use the Scottish
office in preference." — Letter to Rev. J. Skinner.

No doubts regarding the soundness of this Communion Service,
can remain upon the mind of any unprejudiced person, after a study
of Mr. Bagot's very able and Christian Letter upon the subject.

^_^ Note B. p. 29.

Since this discourse was delivered, it is gratifying to find that,
notwithstanding many unfavourable circumstances, the Congrega-
tional offerings for the ensuing year in aid of the Society, so far as
they have been returned, are not diminished. The following have
been received in this diocese : —

St. P.aul's, Edinburgh,

£152 6 10

St. John's, do.

15.5 9 (J

St. James's, do.

28 0 0

St. Qeorgc's, do.

28 8 11

St. Paul's, (old town,) do. .

- 7 3 4

Trinity, do.

13 15 6

St. Peter's, do.

17 1 !)

Musselburgh,

14 2 2

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